A 52-year-old man is fighting for his life in hospital after dry tree branches fell on his head while he was riding a motorcycle through Bengaluru on Wednesday evening, in an incident locals say was entirely preventable.
Satish, who was not wearing a helmet at the time, lost consciousness instantly on impact and crashed to the ground alongside his motorcycle. The entire sequence of events was captured on CCTV. Bystanders rushed to help him and he was taken to a private hospital, where surgeons performed an operation on his head injuries. Despite the surgery, his condition remains critical.
Local residents have directed anger at the forest department and civic authorities, alleging that multiple complaints had been made about the specific tree whose branches snapped and fell on Satish. They claimed that they had repeatedly requested the dry branches to be trimmed or removed, but that no action was taken. The incident has reignited concerns about the maintenance of urban trees in Bengaluru, where falling branches during dry periods and storms have caused injuries in the past.
The absence of a helmet is understood to have significantly worsened the severity of Satish’s head injuries, according to those familiar with the case.
